1) Subproject PI: Robert E. Akins, Person ID:15020588 2) Abstract Each DE-CTR institution has resources for mentoring faculty and fostering career advancement in basic science and clinical disciplines, but the focus and depth of these resources vary across sites. A goal of this Key Component Activity (KCA) is to integrate resources and programs for mentoring and educating investigators across the DE-CTR. Efforts in this KCA will bring tremendous power to the DE-CTR's capabilities to transform the research and learning environments in our institutions to foster development of strong clinical and translational research programs and encourage team-based approaches to research. An effective and efficient core focused on faculty Mentoring, Education and Development (MED-Core) leverages existing programs and structures. Notably, the CTSA-supported South Carolina Translational Research Institute (SCTR) has greatly advanced mentoring and education programs at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Our KCA will leverage the SCTR experience and the SC-CTSA's goal to export their successes to other institutions to develop programs in Delaware, with MUSC playing a central role by providing guidance and expertise. A successful MED-Core will entice doctoral-qualified clinicians to sustain research efforts, will provide basic scientists support to build translational programs, will coordinate outreach to engage research communities, and will significantly strength clinical and translational research effectiveness. Synergistic interactions among the institutions will foster development of infrastructure for translational research overall and support research teams addressing health care disparities affecting both states. The ability of participating investigators to establish innovative collaborations will be greatly enhanced by coordinated access to the broad and deep expertise within the combined institutions of the DE-CTR - expertise that spans clinical practice, health economics and policy, population sciences, public health, biomedical sciences and engineering within a unique combination of institutions that have an established record of effective partnership. The MED-Core will use an innovative approach to build mentoring, education and career development programs guided by the concept that research should be driven by clinical need while being cognizant that the needs of different patient populations vary depending on current understanding of disease state, available treatments/therapies, and the ability to implement effective strategies in the clinic and community. Impactful clinical and translational research depends on a continuous flow of knowledge from bedside to bench to clinic to community, and effective MED-Core programs must establish the skills to manage these dynamics and prepare investigators to work within multidisciplinary teams focused on improving health and healthcare.